I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a humidifier for a forced-air furnace system and, in particular, to a humidifier adapted to be mounted within a duct wall for redirecting air flow from the duct across a moisture media and back into the duct.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Humidifiers have been widely used to increase the comfort of inside environments by adding moisture to air which tends to be dry because of heating and low humidity levels. Stand alone humidifiers are useful for single room applications. However, furnace mounted humidifiers add moisture to the air which is circulated throughout a home and therefore have wider application. The moisture is added to the air through evaporation from a water pool, a moisture media or through atomization of water into the air flow. Typically, the air flow is diverted through the humidifier housing from a high pressure side of the furnace and outlet to a low pressure side creating the necessary air flow for adding moisture.
In order to transfer moisture to the air flowing through the humidifier various mechanical systems are employed by prior known humidifiers. A water reservoir within the humidifier may be vibrated to atomize the water for interaction with the air flow. Still other systems employ a rotating drum which carries a water reservoir and then into the air stream to transfer moisture to the air by evaporation. Other rotating drum systems actually scoop the water from the reservoir causing evaporation as the water is spilled back into the reservoir from the top of the drum. Finally, the simplest prior known humidifying systems simply direct the forced air flow across the top of a water reservoir counting on evaporation to transfer moisture to the air stream.